World Cancer Day 2025: United by unique 

February 4, 2025

Putting people at the centre of cancer care 

February 4 is World Cancer Day – a key international awareness day coordinated by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). UICC’s new World Cancer Day theme—United by unique—aims to place people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the conversation.

1.5 million Canadians are living with and beyond cancer up to 25 years after a cancer diagnosis1. But cancer is more than just a number: it is a personal story.  

For World Cancer Day, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (the Partnership) asked three Patient, Family and Caregiver Advisors to share their stories and Partnership CEO Dr. Craig Earle to reflect on Canada’s progress and what more is needed to continue making person-centred care a reality. 

Canada’s cancer strategy prioritizes a person-centred approach to cancer care 

The Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control is an ambitious 10-year action plan designed to achieve equitable access to quality cancer care in Canada and to ensure a sustainable system for the future. 

The Partnership and partners are leading and implementing key initiatives to improve cancer outcomes for all people in Canada: 

  • Advancing People-specific, self-determined cancer priorities: more than 500+ First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities across the 13 provinces and territories are benefiting from People-specific, self-determined cancer priorities to improve cancer care and outcomes with and for all First Nations, Inuit and Métis.  
  • Addressing patients’ needs after cancer treatment: the Life After Cancer hub highlights how partners across Canada, with the support of the Partnership, have made resources related to cancer survivorship readily available to healthcare organizations, providers and people living with and beyond cancer. 
  • Closing gaps in cancer data:  pan-Canadian Cancer Data Strategy is modernizing how we collect, analyze and share high-quality cancer data, which will ultimately enhance all aspects of care and improve cancer outcomes.  
  • Providing at-home palliative care: more than 7,700 paramedics across Canada have been trained to provide at-home palliative care, saving money, time and trips to emergency rooms. 

World Cancer Day will be recognized across Canada with the following landmarks lit in orange and blue on February 4: 

  • Canada Place Sails of Light, Vancouver, British Columbia
  • High-Level Bridge, Edmonton, Alberta
  • The Forks Winnipeg Sign, Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • The Esplanade Riel Bridge, Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario
  • Toronto Sign, Toronto, Ontario 
  • Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls, Ontario
  • Ottawa Sign, Ottawa, Ontario

About World Cancer Day 2025 

World Cancer Day takes place every year on February 4 and is a key international awareness day that unites the world in the fight against cancer. 

Created in 2000 and coordinated by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), World Cancer Day 2025 is taking place under the new theme United by Unique and places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the conversation. The campaign will explore different dimensions of people-centred cancer care and new ways of making a difference.  

To learn more about World Cancer Day, visit worldcancerday.org. 

[1] Brenner, D. R., Gillis, J., Demers, A. A., Ellison, L. F., Billette, J.-M., Zhang, S. X., Liu, J. L., Woods, R. R., Finley, C., Fitzgerald, N., Saint-Jacques, N., Shack, L., & Turner, D. (2024). Projected estimates of cancer in Canada in 2024. CMAJ, 196(18), E615–E623. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.240095